Sunday, January 11, 2009

Ray Evernham Needs To Clear The Air

Update: This column now has a story link at the bottom to NASCAR.com

In just a couple of weeks, the NASCAR on ESPN team will again take to the air. Along with broadcasting the Nationwide Series race from Daytona, ESPN will be on-scene with NASCAR Now, SportsCenter and ESPNEWS.

Last season's cast of characters will be returning with Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree having a very low-key off-season. Rusty Wallace continues to run his Nationwide Series team and Brad Daugherty has MWR all ready to handle his single car effort on the Cup side with Marcos Ambrose.

Once again, the one ESPN personality that has been in the news, on the radio and all over the Internet during the off-season has been Ray Evernham. Last week, ESPN announced that Evernham would be returning to his "utility player" role for the network in 2009.

He will be used in the broadcast booth as an analyst, in the infield pit studio as an expert panelist and on multiple ESPN shows to offer both opinion and analysis.

Before that all begins, Ray Evernham needs to speak-up and clear the air.

Evernham recently called-in and spoke with David Poole at Sirius about some issues. Here are some details from Poole's column about that conversation:

Evernham no longer has a major day-to-day role in the team he ran after leaving Hendrick Motorsports as Jeff Gordon's crew chief to help Dodge come back to big-time NASCAR competition. He sold most of his interest into the team to George Gillett and his family and has scaled back more and more over the past couple of years.

Evernham wants to be involved in racing. But as a team owner, he discovered that was a job he wasn't going to be able to do at a level he could feel good about.

Evernham said Tuesday that "it will probably always haunt me" that he didn't win a championship as a team owner, but he's proud of what he helped build at GEM. He's not sure he agrees with everything that's being done there now, but he also said that it's no longer his call.

As for the situation with Sadler and Allmendinger, there wasn't much he could say.

Therein lies the problem. In just a couple of weeks, Evernham will have plenty to say. He will have to speak to ESPN viewers about GEM and other teams as a former crew chief and veteran team owner. He will have to comment on the news and offer opinions about various NASCAR topics. How exactly is that going to work?

Reid Spencer from The Sporting News (click here) suggests that the merger between GEM and Petty Racing along with Elliott Sadler's firing and hiring makes that entire group look like the Keystone Cops. The fact that the newly-merged company does not have an official name just tops it all off.

It has been suggested that Richard Petty Motorsports may be the new name of the team, which will complete the use of Petty as a "branding tool" and nothing more. Key to this agreement is that Evernham may have left as a day-to-day senior executive, but he is retaining an interest in the team, possibly as much as twenty percent.

It was September of last year when the Ray Evernham issue first boiled-over. ESPN had given Evernham a free pass not to talk about GEM, the Robby Gordon lawsuit or the fact that Patrick Carpentier had been released. It was Evernham's first season with the ESPN team.

This was blatantly unfair and stretched from the infield pit studio to the NASCAR Now studios and beyond. TDP called it the ESPN "code of silence."

Over at Yahoo! Sports, Jay Busbee chimed-in (click here) about how tough it is for Evernham to navigate through the very problems that he created. Busbee called the situation "ethically awkward."

The sad part of all of this is that Evernham works on TV. He has the right personality, the knowledge and the demeanor to grow his role on the ESPN coverage.

Unfortunately, by not divesting himself of NASCAR ownership and continuing to play the "I am not involved" card where GEM is concerned, Evernham is doing himself a disservice.

We will leave you with a link (click here) to the TDP column from last September about the issue. Here is an excerpt:

While Evernham might talk about his cars and his teams during the race highlights, there is a code of silence at ESPN where Evernham is concerned that is simply not fair to NASCAR fans. Like all the other owners, Evernham should be fair game and he is not.

Where ESPN is concerned, suits-and-ties and silence cannot hide reality. These NASCAR owners who double as ESPN announcers simply cannot walk down both sides of the street and expect their commentary to be received by the fans as unbiased.

Update: Click here for a story by Raygan Swan about Evernham. It seems Evernham used her to address some of the very same specific issues that TDP suggested.

TDP welcomes your thoughts on this issue. However, any comment with a reference to Evernham's personal life will be deleted. This topic is about Evenham's credibility on TV and the conflict at ESPN with active team owners as on-air announcers and analysts.

To add your opinion, just click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the easy instructions. The rules for posting are located on the right side of the main page. Thank you for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.

Hasn't anyone considered the fact that his *lawyers* may have told Ray to limit what he discusses? It also may be in his agreement with whatever GEM is now (a non-disclosure agreement, for example, would exclude him from discussing certain things that happened when he was there.) As for his personal issues, that could be part of another legal agreement. Now, we can criticize ESPN for hiring him under those conditions, if it's the case, but even if he were to comment on it, everyone would be critcizing him for commenting on something he's (potentially) biased about. It's a no win situation.

Anon at 3:59, in one of his interviews on Sirius, Ray pretty much said exactly what you posted that can't openly speak on any of these issues. I would think there likely is some sort of non-disclosure agreement as that is standard in many contracts. Maybe when that expires Ray will shed a little insight on some of these issues... though I get the feeling that he hasn't been directly involved with much at GEM for a year or more now which means that there may not be much he can add that's not already known.

If Ray should be barred from working for ESPN or any other media entity because of a conflict of interest or his connections to news or people in the garage area, than virtually the entire on-air talent for ESPN, FOX and SPEED has to go as well because if they aren't owners, then they're related to someone in the garage area, are married to someone, have worked with or for someone, or have other personal relationships with people in the garage area.

from anon 3:59, thanks, Deborah. I had a feeling it was probably the case (I've had to agree to non-disclosures in my business too.) I don't disagree that with Nan that it's a situation of bias, but I think Deborah is right on the money. Because these are career/long term family businesses in a small circle of people, you are going to have a *really* really hard time finding people who are truly objective who know something about the sport. There are other sports where this is an occasional issue--like Boomer Esiason calling out Aikman for being biased for the Cowboys...but none are a tightly knit as racing. Dale Jarrett is no doubt close personal friends with many NASCAR-ites, so he'd have to go. Ditto Punch and Petree, Waltrip, Hammond. Yocum is pals with Stewart, Wendy's married to the 20 team engine tuner, plus her family's team connections, etc, etc. It'd be a barebones crew left.

*Ownership* is a somewhat different ballgame, and I get JD's distinction on that part, because money-making could be involved. But in general terms, like when the local TimeWarner owned station comments on T-W rate hikes, they usually make a point of mentioning it as 'their parent company'. As long as no one's being deceitful, I don't know that I have so much a problem with it if it's handled *professionally*. If I heard a scenario like Steve Wallace wrecking someone obviously and Rusty wouldn't admit it, then I think the network ought to fire him. I just haven't heard it happen....yet. But I think we should be diligent about paying attention to it.

I believe there are more positives than negatives to Ray E's working on ESPN since he is so knowledgeable and insightful about the current workings of NASCAR. I have no problem in his answering that he does not know or that he cannot comment - but I do have a problem with his not being asked the questions on ESPN. In fact, David Poole's working for the Charlotte Observer and for Sirius could present a bigger conflict.

@Dot--Mr. Sabates was leaving anyway. I know he originally said he was going to stay about 5 years, when it was announced a year or so ago. I think Mr. Sabates was mostly interested in the IRL portion of the team.

I guess I'm ready to let Ray just move on, that may be because I like to hear what he has to say about the race cars and strategy. The non disclosure is probably true too. It's that old privileged information issue and I wouldn't want to mess that contract deal up either.

I don't think you will ever find anyone truly unbiased from someone that's slightly capable of broadcasting any show, there's too much time spent together with too many people during the course of the season so friends and enemies are bound to be made.

I think it crosses the line when you have a vested interest or are being paid by someone else like the Ray Evernham car owner or the Daryl Waltrip Toyota deals. Most of the others have some side deals going on.

I thought ESPN was on to something with their ban on Rusty owning a Cup team but that went out the window when Brad wanted one.

I say put David Poole in the booth, right or wrong he's not afraid to call something out if he thinks its suspect and he is contractually forbidden to advertise for anyone by the Observer.

How about if Everham just gives his opinion. You had already reported long before Sadler was ousted from GEM that Everham was done with day-to-day operations, and he had already said as much on the air.

So I guess Everham can go on the air and say it was a great decision to fire Sadler or he may say it was a lousy decision to fire Sadler. He may say something neutral like "well, we'll have to see how this turns out." but beyond that -- just what does he have to explain?

You seem to have something against Everham. I don't see what Everham has to clear up.

My reading was that Ray had sold what remaining interest he had in the the team and had gotten everything of his out of the offices. I have a feeling that what everyone is saying about disclosures is correct, and if you can find someone not related to the racing family that are commentating, then good luck, I personally would rather listen to Ray talk about the cars and his knowledge than Rusty Wallace any day of the wek and am looking forward to hearing more of what he has to say this season.

I like Ray, but I am tired of so many of the announcers who have other "interests" in the sport pretending to be unbiased but who obviously are not. Between Rusty Wallace, Darrel and Michael Waltrip, it gets to be too much and I can't give value to anything they say because they are too involved.

I'm sure that Ray has a non-disclosure agreement regarding GEM, but I don't think that ESPN should give him a pass and just not ask questions. If he can't answer, then he needs to say so. I consider him to be a knowledgeable person regarding racing and I'd far rather listen to him than Rusty.

But JD, how would you expect him to do that if he legally isn't allowed to? I suppose they can ask him the question and have him answer 'I can't legally answer', but what's the point? Do you expect him to disobey the agreement he signed?

Not saying it's not an awkward situation, but like many, I kind of enjoy listening to what Ray has to say.

Ray has repeatedly said he has nothing to do with the management decisions of the car team. I think that is pretty clear. Not sure why some keep wanting to beat a dead horse.

I do appreciate the fact that this site does not cater to those who keep wanting to bring up his personal life. IT'S NO ONE'S BUSINESS! The guy is divorced, get over it, and if you can't, change the channel.

I look forward to seeing Ray, and hear his take on what is going on in track and team stratedgy.

"He is still a multi-car owner in the Cup Series with active ownership in a four car team that is at the top of the news."

Except that he really isn't. His ownership in GEM is very minimal at this point and he's said repeatedly for months now that he's no longer actively involved in anything that goes on at GEM. He's also openly addressed everything to the best of his ability including being a member of the broadcast team on ESPN and wanting credibility on Sirius and in interviews otherwise. If there's more that you feel Ray needs to do JD, then perhaps you should contact him and ask him to agree to an interview in this space. For all anyone knows ESPN sees no reason for Ray to address anything further on air and if that's the case what can Ray do about that?

"He is still a multi-car owner in the Cup Series with active ownership in a four car team that is at the top of the news."

JD, you overstate the ownership angle. RE is a shareholder in a company that operates race teams.That doesn't guarantee him the access to inside knowledge, no less input,that you think. I have written in past threads that ESPN was being generous with RE, not to embarrass him publicly about how little he knew what was going on.

GG is in a tight spot since the bank(Royal Bank of Scotland)that lent him £350 million to buy the soccer team was nationalized by the UK government and the loan is up for re-financing on the 25th, and the number of lending institutions interested in helping him out are few and far between.

Why should Evernham be put on the spot? If you want the inside scoop why don't you interview Gillett & Petty? The fans have complained as it is that Rusty "brags" about his team on air, so why should Ray have to spill the beans? I think Ray has had enough explaining, why can't the media, fans just let him be? So much pressure was put on him to produce another "Jeff Gordon" in a short time frame after leaving Hendrick & dealing with the ever increasing $$$ enforced by NASCAR had him looking for a partner to survive, not to mention the media digging into his personal life after a driver decides to throw a tantrum. That's enough to make anyone turn their back on something.

This topic perplexes me a bit. Bottom line,Evernham should be treated no differently than Rusty,Brad,etc. I've always enjoyed his professional assessment of the sport and his technical understanding of the COT. I could care less about his private life, or Rusty's or DJ'a or anyone else's. I think it's to his credit that he doesn't dwell on his team's issues lest he be criticized for being self serving. All I care about is the quality of these shows. I want to hear from people who know what they're talking about and not airhead "talking heads" that don't know the difference between a COT and a Nationwide car!

Ray is not just some guy strolling down the street being questioned. He is an ESPN media personality. He chose to put himself in this situation where he has a clear conflict of interest. Other commentators should be able to ask him about any Nascar issue and if Ray needs to say, "my lawyers won't let me talk about that", its fine. Just say it and get that out in the open, don't hide from it or pretend the issue (Robby Gordon) doesn't exist. Then ESPN can decide if they want a guy on the air that has those issues.

John, if you're going to hold Evernham responsible for spilling the inside story of what's happening at GEM, isn't it time for Dale Jarrett to finally tell the world what REALLY happened during Michael Waltip Racing's Daytona "fuel additive controversy" a few years back?

If Ray is a 20% minority owner, what he says or does on TV won't have too much effect on Mr. Gillett. If Ray pi**es him off by being critical there isn't much he can do, so it won't prevent Ray from being honest with his opinion. If Ray doesn't like something that Gillett is doing, again, not much he can do but sell his stake. I don't see where a minority ownership should preclude him from ESPN if you agree to give Rusty and Brad a pass. ESPN has not shyed away form making Rusty react when one of his drivers does something stupid, so as long as they actually ask Ray to comment and he does, it is fine in my opinion. NASCAR is what we love BECAUSE of its 'family' interconnectedness and we should take Ray with the same grain of salt as we do DW when he talks about Mikey. We know the history and the potential color it gives to the speakers judgement.

>If ESPN brings Evernham in and >allows him to avoid talking about >the GEM, Sadler and Petty issues on >TV it will not make for a very >credible season.

I couldn't disagree more. Ray had already said on the air, weeks before these issues sprang up, that he was done with the team, the operations, the decision making, all that. We have all seen Bestwick ask him about GEM issues in the last few weeks of the season and Ray flat out say he isn't involved any more.

So I'm not really sure what he can add to this.

To say having Everham on any NASCAR related show won't be credible is incredible to me. This man had forgotten more about NASCAR than most of us will ever know. He knows more about winning in NASCAR than just about anyone in the sport today, and that is a fact that can be proven.

Any NASCAR show that has on Everham as a guest GAINS credibility - they don't lose it. The man is a winner. The man is a champion. The man is a hall-of-famer. The man has done what others still aspire to do. I don't know why he gets so little respect on this website (actually, I think I do know - and shame on you for judging him), but I find the most recent article on Everham by this website to be off-target, to put it mildly.

Evernham has been placed in a position where his knowledge can be used to inform the fans what is taking place on and off(pit) the track. He has not talked about nor made excuses for any of the drivers at GEM for extended periods like some of the others on the show. Darrell did not "Clear the Air" about fuel used in the #55 for any of us and I'm sure he was made aware of the information.

Until the France Family throws out Brainless Brian and all his GIMMICKS and start doing business in a PROFESSIONAL way, instead of the "mom & pop" way they do business now, NASCAR will continue to go DOWNHILL, like it has the last 5 years!

JD, I have a somewhat different take on this. It seems to me that the real problem is the lack of standards at EESPN, which controls whether or not Ray E is on the air or not and, presumably, whether or not he is asked to answer questions about what he knows about the goings on at GEM. I guess it would be nice for Ray to tell what he knows, but I'm not sure he is under an obligation to do so if EESPN does not ask him to or give him the venue to do so. In light of Ray's history and high profile in NASCAR, I believe most fans should be aware of the potential conflict. In fact I believe the potential conflicts are much more out in the open in EESPN's coverage of NASCAR than in most other areas of its sports coverage. EESPN has the former GM of (as I recall) the Tenn. Titans commenting on NFL, but I have seen him mentioned elsewhere as a potential candidate for GM positions with teams having GM vacancies, but I have not heard him asked about such. Also, EESPN has former Mavericks' coach Avery Johnson commenting about NBA and I doubt he has been asked about his interest in possible NBA coaching openings.

I say get those drivers seats filled up and let's go racing! I don't really care what happened behind the scenes with Ray because it's none of my business or anyone else's. I've been a race fan since the 80's and there's been alot that goes on. A whole lot more than we ever hear about. But who cares? I just want to see some good racing this season.

Ray built a business, made money with it, and sold it. It is not too hard to figure out that he is there in name only and probably has to be for the Dodge contract. Rusty is not at his shop, Brad won't be helping Waltrip, and Ray won't help Sadler next time the axe swings.

What do you all think of the fact that Crocker was one of Raygan Swan's bridesmaids, and she's picked to write the Evernham interview? Hmmm...the whole Nascar world is so intertwined, it's just about impossible to find someone with the technical knowledge, ability to speak clearly, and presence Evernham has to be on TV.

I say let Evernham get more airtime. He can explain impossible situations clearly. If he insists he has no power or authority at GEM, or whatever its name is today, I believe him.

Dave Moody,You have an opportunity this very week to ask Elliott Sadler some questions many NASCAR fans would like (and even have a right to know).

I have never understood why NASCAR driver (and owners) get a free pass when it comes to the media. Have you ever seen an NFL head coach's or players Q/A after a game or something controversial? (as is the Sadler/GEM fiasco)

But just a hunch, when you have Sadler on your Sirius Radio show this week, you will continue to lob softballs as you do with most your 'regular' guests.

What does Swan's bridesmaid have to with Ray Evernham's role on Espn? For the record maybe the reason Ray decided to talk to Swan was trust in her not twisting his words to suit the needs of the media hounds to make it sound like there is more he is not telling us. Good grief leave the man alone!

"What do you all think of the fact that Crocker was one of Raygan Swan's bridesmaids, and she's picked to write the Evernham interview? Hmmm..."------------------Good point showing how things are much too intertwined - this fact didn't even register with me (though I had read about it and seen the wedding pictures) when I read Swan's interview with Evernham.

And...Swan's ex-fiance from a couple of years back (before she married recently) drove for Evernham. (AJ Foyt IV).

I don't always agree with J.D., but I agree with him 100 percent on this column. Quite frankly, I'm rather surprised that so many people are in the "what does it matter?" mode. The questions about GEM should be asked of Evernham on ESPN, and if he can't answer because of non-disclosure, he should say that on air. Why is it OK for him to say that's the reason he can't answer on the radio, but ESPN can't ask him to say in on their programs?

Unless this new agreement changes things, Evernham still owns 20 percent of the team. He said very recently that he's willing to have Gillett buy him out but until then he owns 20 percent. That is not an insignificant percentage.

People say he hasn't been involved for a long time. That's just not true (and Evernham, if you read his interviews, is rather notable for saying lots of different things to different reporters. I don't think he's the most truthful interview-giver). When Kahne won three races earlier last year, Gillett was more than happy to give the "consultant" Evernham the credit for helping the team, and Evernham was happy to take it. (Go search the interviews).

When things fell apart for GEM, after that, that's when he got more emphatic about the "I'm just a consultant without any influence" mode.

I think we're so used to all the family/business conflicts of interest, we just forget about it (like I forgot about Swan's connections with Evernham).

I have to think this is yet another reason for ESPN not to give NASCAR any respect. Yes, the analysts in other sports are buddy-buddy with each other, but they are frequently criticized (by TV critics in columns and by people in their sport) if they appear to have a conflict of interest involving a current player. Or in the NBA, analysts are often "auditioning" for the next coaching job by getting TV exposure, but as soon as they get a job with the NBA, they're out of the booth. Immediately.

NASCAR is just too different, and I don't think the coziness of the NASCAR world plays well with the ESPN world. I don't think it ever will.

The logic empolyed here is quite interesting. If someone like Mayfield, for example, says something positive about Ray, it is suspect and a conflict because there's a work history there.

Now, on the other hand, if he throws Ray under the bus, boy does Mayfield's cred jumps off the chart. This is really true logic!!

Complaining about Ray is like baying at the moon. He's a smart sharp guy, and has a lot of respect and fans in the racing community. And he said what he said. That's it.

Fans know his history just like they know DW, DJ, Kyle, Rusty, etc. If they say something fans think is colored by their relationships, fans know it and take it into consideration. THEY ARE NOT STLETH ROBOTS!

I recently returned from Ray's Race Car Museum in Mooresville, NC.Meeting Ray and the people around him was a wonderful experience. He is a great guy as far as I am concerned. The people who want to pry into his private life are nothing but busy bodies, Ray is a Race Car "Guy", who probably knows more about Race Cars and NASCAR than anyone around, and who has a love for the sport that cannot be surpassed.